Dugu Yan's face went "boom," flushing all the way to her ears.
How humiliating!
She wanted to bite down on her lip, but wave after wave of exquisite comfort washed over her, leaving her completely unable to control herself.
Her body's instincts overpowered the embarrassment in her rational mind.
The minutes ticked by.
Fine beads of sweat had formed on Lan's forehead, and his face had turned slightly pale.
At last, he slowly withdrew his hand.
He looked at the girl slumped in the tub, her whole body flushed a healthy pink, with only a hint of misty confusion lingering at the corners of her eyes.
"The snake venom in your body has already penetrated to the marrow."
Lan spoke without expression.
"Getting rid of it completely won't happen in a day."
"For the first week, you'll need a treatment every day. Come to the Crown Prince's Mansion tomorrow."
Only then did Dugu Yan come back to herself from that strange sensation. Her whole body felt weak, yet she could clearly feel a lightness she had never experienced before.
She looked up and saw Lan's slightly pale face and the sweat on his forehead. Her heart gave a sudden pang.
"Y-you're okay, right?"
Lan shook his head without saying more, then turned and walked toward the door.
Behind him, the door closed gently.
Ye Lingling, who had been waiting outside, immediately pushed it open and came in.
"Yan Yan, are you all right? Why's your face so red?"
Dugu Yan instinctively reached up to touch her cheek. It was burning hot.
She stared blankly at the closed door for a long while before speaking to her best friend in a voice barely above a whisper.
"Lingling..."
"I think I might regret this a little."
Ye Lingling held Dugu Yan by the arm, her clear eyes full of worry.
"What do you regret?"
"Didn't you always hate him?"
Dugu Yan shook her head and leaned against the warm wooden tub, feeling the unprecedented cleanliness and lightness within her body.
She raised her hand and looked at her smooth arm. The faint, venom-like patterns were gone.
"Lingling, what I regret is... misunderstanding him before."
Dugu Yan's voice was soft, with a tremor she herself hadn't noticed.
"I thought he'd take the chance to humiliate me, or..."
She didn't finish, but Ye Lingling understood.
"But he didn't."
Dugu Yan's gaze fell on her shoulder, damp with steam.
"From beginning to end, his eyes held nothing but calm. It was as if... as if he were looking at a piece of jade that needed carving, not a woman's body."
"He was focused, and... he worked so hard."
Thinking of Lan's slightly pale face and the sweat on his forehead as he left, Dugu Yan's heart tightened again.
"He's a true gentleman."
As Ye Lingling listened, a strange light appeared in her eyes as well.
She remembered Lan's peerless bearing on the field at Skywater Academy, then the calm way he had worked just now.
He really was a special person.
Lan walked along the chilly streets of Heaven Dou City.
The moonlight flowed like water, stretching his shadow long behind him.
Drawing the venom out of Dugu Yan had consumed more mental energy than he had expected.
His mental strength was already close to the level of a Titled Douluo, but it still wasn't enough.
He had to improve as soon as possible.
Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
The name circled in his mind, filling him with anticipation.
The Immortal Herbs there might bring about a qualitative leap in his strength, perhaps even in his Martial Soul.
Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew.
Aromatic Silk Beauty.
And even... Lovesick Heartbreak Red, the flower that bloomed only for love.
The corner of Lan's mouth curved almost imperceptibly.
Just then, his steps came to an abrupt halt.
A cold, viscous killing intent seeped out of a shadowy alley nearby, locking onto him with pinpoint precision.
"Kid, you've got sharp senses!"
A moment later, a burly figure, built like an iron tower, slowly emerged from the alley's shadows.
In the moonlight, the man had a head of disheveled short hair and bronze-colored skin. His muscles bulged all over, radiating explosive strength.
Immovable Wisdom King, Zhao Wuji.
Lan's expression didn't change in the slightest. He simply watched him calmly.
Almost at the same time, a cold, emotionless mechanical voice rang deep in his mind.
[Hunting System mission issued.]
[Mission target: Hunt and kill "Immovable Wisdom King" Zhao Wuji.]
[Target information: This man allows his students to run wild and oppress commoners in Suotuo City. In his younger years, he was notorious for his brutality and stained his hands with the blood of countless innocents.]
[Judgment: Must be executed.]
The mechanical voice faded from his mind, leaving only the night wind and the pressure emanating from the burly figure at the alley's mouth.
Zhao Wuji rolled his shoulders, his bones cracking. His murky eyes held a hint of scrutiny.
"Kid, you're the one who hurt a student from our academy?"
Lan's expression didn't change. He didn't even raise an eyelid.
He spoke in a cool, quiet voice, like a cold spring on a rainy night.
"You mean that beast, Ma Hongjun?"
"I'm the one who cut him."
"What are you going to do about it?"
The muscles on Zhao Wuji's face twitched. Clearly, he hadn't expected the other man to be so blunt—and so arrogant.
"Kid, you've got guts!"
He laughed in fury.
"Do you know who I am?"
"I'm Shrek's vice dean, Immovable Wisdom King Zhao Wuji!"
"A seventy-sixth-level Power Attack System Battle Soul Saint!"
He announced his title and level one word at a time, each carrying the crushing pressure of a Soul Saint, enough to make an ordinary Soul Master tremble with fear.
But Lan only let out a disdainful snort.
"Shrek?"
"It's nothing but a den for filth and corruption."
As soon as the words fell, a cold drop landed from the sky.
Then came a second, and a third.
Lan lifted his head, letting the chilly raindrops fall on his face.
"It's raining."
Suddenly, his mood brightened.
He liked rainy days.
Pitter-patter. The rain grew heavier.
In the blink of an eye, the drizzle became a torrential downpour, washing over the long street. The rain shattered the moonlight, blurring the entire world into a haze.
"You're asking to die!"
Hearing Lan's contemptuous remark, Zhao Wuji finally flew into a rage.
He stopped wasting words and roared, unleashing every bit of his Soul Power!
"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar!"
His already massive frame swelled in an instant. Yellow-brown fur erupted across his body, covering him from head to toe in the blink of an eye.
His bones cracked with a teeth-grating series of pops. His muscles bulged, packed with explosive strength.
A Vajra Bear, over five meters tall and built of knotted muscles like granite, appeared in the middle of the street.
The terrifying pressure of a seventy-sixth-level Soul Saint crashed down like a mountain, locking onto Lan.
The bluestone paving beneath the bear's feet cracked inch by inch and sank.
The Vajra Bear raised a paw larger than a man's head and brought it crashing down on the slender figure in the rain!
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